The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 series loss to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.
In the final match, the visiting team handed India a record Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. It marked the Proteas' first series win in India in two and a half decades and India's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year unbeaten run.
The winning rhythm built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the careers of multiple squad members - as well as team coach the coach - now hang in the balance.
Early Optimism Disappears
The new-look squad's strong showing in the UK this summer, under a new captain, suggested a successful handover after the almost concurrent exits of key players Ashwin, Sharma, and Kohli.
A facile 2-0 win over the Windies at the commencement of the home season boosted that belief, before the Proteas arrived to deliver a fell blow.
India were somewhat unlucky that captain Shubman Gill got injured early on in the first Test and did not participate again in the contest. Yet that does not excuse or justify the team of the highly disappointing performance in each match against the opposition.
A number of star cricketers took a hit, and multiple individuals aspiring to extended tenures in Tests were revealed to be not up to the mark - in skill or mindset - for the longer format.
Worrying Trend
This was the second series sweep on home soil experienced by the Indian team in just over a year. In 2024, unfancied the Kiwis had secured a staggering 3-0 victory which effectively cost India a place in the Test championship finale.
The recent defeat to the Proteas risks harming India's prospects of making the showpiece of this edition too.
Previously ranked third in the Test championship standings before the series, the side have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine more Tests are still to come, a majority are against Australia. Typically, playing at home would be a significant benefit - even when facing the powerful Australians. However the failures against the Kiwis and the Proteas provide no basis for such assurance.
Roots of the Decline
The national team's frailty in Test cricket has been significantly highlighted. That said, why the team have fared so badly in Tests at home lately is still bewildering.
From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were considered impregnable in Test cricket in home conditions. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that favored spin bowling and benefited their players, the hosts faced little challenge. The odd series defeat, like in the 2012-13 season against the English, was viewed as an aberration.
Now, India appear to be beatable in their own backyard.
Against the Kiwis in last year and the Proteas currently, the home side were hoisted by their own petard. The surfaces they developed to favor their game went wrong completely, as rivals used them more effectively, beating the home team's players when it counted the most.
What's Gone Wrong?
Certain analysts propose that the Indian team is floundering at home because home surfaces have been changed from spinning tracks to quick wickets to train the squad to perform better in foreign conditions.
Some point out that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players take part, has taken away the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would present to them earlier.
Even though there is a degree of accuracy in these views, it fails to account for why the team's showings at home have seen such a dramatic drop.
Multiple Failings
Many past stars point to a complicated issue, not just a couple of reasons.
Critics and players have pointed to various flaws after India's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, poor choices, excessive self-belief, frequent changes of the starting eleven, and prioritising white-ball over the longer format.
This was obvious in the performances of the team.
Cricketers like Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, paid for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were hoping to secure their spot in the side - were found wanting in ability and attitude, paying a heavy price for their nonchalant approach.
Only a handful - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their talent and reputation - but not sufficiently to secure victories.
Leadership Under Fire
The analysis targeted not only the cricketers - team selectors and support staff were also criticized, spurred on by distraught fans and critical former players. Under focus of the criticism was head coach Gautam Gambhir.
In his post-series press
